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8 Civil Rights Delegates had the pleasure of listening to Stephen Foster
Black, grandson of former Supreme Court Judge Hugh Black. Hugh Black was
a tireless advocate of civil rights, standing firm on carry out the federal
laws concerning civil rights.
“Union out reach and civil rights activism are connected,”
Black stated. “Civil rights are in great danger this century, with
the shift to civil decay. People are not as involved with the busy lives
we live. They are not belonging to PTA, attending union meetings, or church
services. Studies show that people are working more and more hours, and
having less time to devote to being involved. For years there has been
a steady stream of people moving to the suburbs, to more homogenized communities.
We spend more time with people such as ourselves, and learn less but people
who are different from ourselves. We are moving away from faith-based
organizations, and worrying less about justice. We need to stop and think
about what we stand for, and be concerned about a justice that demands
duty. We have to realize that everyone’s life has value and substance
and we all should be willing to stand and protect each other.
My grandfather grew up in the late 1800’s, in time when the struggles
of others were of no concern. He was a lawyer and decided to run for the
senate. He traveled the state of Alabama and joined every group he could
to gain support. One of those groups was the Klu Klux Klan. That guaranteed
a block vote of 50,000 votes at the time. However, when he got to Washington,
he began to read everything he could find in the Library of Congress.
He requested more books to be delivered to his office than anyone before
or after. He began to see that changed needed to be made. President Roosevelt
appointed him to the Supreme Court, and many of those groups began to
feel good they had “one of their own” on the high court. When
he supported the Brown Education case in the 1950’s, he received
40,000 threatening letters in a two-week period. The threats were so severe
that he would visit his home state for 15 years.
My grandfather realized that people who are oppressed need someone to
help them out. Jesus told his disciples about times they had helped him
when he was downtrodden. Anxious they ask him when they had seen him in
need. Jesus replied with the revolutionary answer “when you did
these things for others, you did them for me.
We should be angry about what is happening in this country. Tax loopholes
allow these multinational corporations to move the home offices offshore
to avoid paying federal taxes. It is estimated that we lose $40 billion
a year in taxes due to this. What is good for big business is not necessarily
good for the country. In the past two years we have lost over 200,000
jobs and have experienced the worst record of job growth in the past 50
years. President Bush’s own advisors have stated that tax cuts to
wealthy do not stimulate the economy. We have 45 million Americans without
health care and millions of children rejected from head start programs
because of funding cuts. Republicans state that we need to return to the
American family of the 1950’s, when the mother stayed home. Studies
show that if mothers left the workplace to return home, this would place
50% of those families below the poverty line. Moral politics should make
provisions for these families, if the mother must work to keep the family
above the poverty line. That means head start programs, health care and
a chance at a better life.
Privatization of Social Security is wrong. Published reports show that
is Social Security had been privatized in 2000, there would be more of
our elderly living in poverty now than during the great depression. We
currently have a cap on the amount of yearly tax that is paid to social
security. If that cap were removed, it would eliminate 75% of the deficit
with Social Security. That is moral politics. It is up to each of us to
take a stand. There is a story that a man was troubled by the events of
the world. In his struggles he asked God, “Why don’t you send
someone to help, to which God answered, “ I did – sent you.”
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